Optical Cable Corporation Reports Record Order Input for March

ROANOKE, Va., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Optical Cable Corporation
(Nasdaq: OCCF) today announced record order input of $10.2 million for March,
surpassing record highs achieved in late 2000. March 2001 order input
increased by 70% from March 2000.
"We are very pleased to report record order input in the seasonally soft
month of March," commented Bob Kopstein, President and Chief Executive
Officer, "March's order input exceeds the record highs achieved during the
typically robust late fall period. The need for connectivity continues to
drive our growth while the long-haul telecommunications market softens. Our
indoor/outdoor fiber optic cable continues to be the product of choice due to
its rugged construction as well as the ease of termination and connection to
complicated communication equipment."
March's strong order flow brings Optical Cable's trailing 12 month order
input to $87.4 million, exceeding the Company's fiscal 2001 target of
$86 million in orders. Historically, 100% of order input is realized in
sales.
Included in the March totals was a $3.1 million blanket order from China.
According to Mr. Kopstein, "there is a rapidly increasing need for a wide
array of tight buffer indoor/outdoor rugged fiber optic products, such as
those supplied by Optical Cable Corporation, in China. Our early successes in
this high growth market have put us in a solid position to succeed."
Other large orders received in March included blanket orders of
approximately $1.8 million from Canada to the largest independent
telecommunications company. The company plans to use the product for
interconnectivity with high bandwidth datacom and telecommunication
applications. The company chose Optical Cable's indoor/outdoor "D" series
distribution cable to speed installation time and reduce costs.
Also, contributing to the strong March results were a number of smaller
telecommunications fiber optic cable orders including a $300,000 order from
one of the largest multi-line retailers in the United States to be used in
point of sale applications; $180,000 million for messenger cable in South
America; and $97,000 in stocking orders from Taiwan.
Optical Cable Corporation manufactures and markets a broad range of fiber
optic cables for "high bandwidth" transmission of data, video, and audio
communications over moderate distances. Optical Cable Corporation's cables
can be used both indoors and outdoors and utilize a tight-buffer coating
process that protects the optical fiber.
NOTE: Further information on Optical Cable Corporation is available
through our website on the World Wide Web at http://www.occfiber.com .
To receive additional information on Optical Cable Corporation, via fax,
at no charge, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter code OCCF.
Note: This news release contains certain forward looking statements which
include statements regarding the Company's expectations for its financial
result as well as comments on its competitive positioning. Forward looking
statements are beyond the Company's ability to control and in many cases the
Company cannot predict what factors would cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated by the forward looking statements. The
Company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify
important factors which would cause actual results to differ materially from
those indicated by the forward looking statements. These factors include
statements about the Company's future growth, level of sales to key customers,
actions by competitors, fluctuations in the price of raw materials, the
Company's dependence on a single manufacturing facility, ability to protect
its proprietary manufacturing technology, a dependence on a limited number of
suppliers, technical changes and introductions of new competing products,
productivity, international operations, weather, as well as other factor
detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Optical Cable Corporation

ROANOKE, Va., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Optical Cable Corporation
(Nasdaq: OCCF) today announced record order input of $10.2 million for March,
surpassing record highs achieved in late 2000. March 2001 order input
increased by 70% from March 2000.
"We are very pleased to report record order input in the seasonally soft
month of March," commented Bob Kopstein, President and Chief Executive
Officer, "March's order input exceeds the record highs achieved during the
typically robust late fall period. The need for connectivity continues to
drive our growth while the long-haul telecommunications market softens. Our
indoor/outdoor fiber optic cable continues to be the product of choice due to
its rugged construction as well as the ease of termination and connection to
complicated communication equipment."
March's strong order flow brings Optical Cable's trailing 12 month order
input to $87.4 million, exceeding the Company's fiscal 2001 target of
$86 million in orders. Historically, 100% of order input is realized in
sales.
Included in the March totals was a $3.1 million blanket order from China.
According to Mr. Kopstein, "there is a rapidly increasing need for a wide
array of tight buffer indoor/outdoor rugged fiber optic products, such as
those supplied by Optical Cable Corporation, in China. Our early successes in
this high growth market have put us in a solid position to succeed."
Other large orders received in March included blanket orders of
approximately $1.8 million from Canada to the largest independent
telecommunications company. The company plans to use the product for
interconnectivity with high bandwidth datacom and telecommunication
applications. The company chose Optical Cable's indoor/outdoor "D" series
distribution cable to speed installation time and reduce costs.
Also, contributing to the strong March results were a number of smaller
telecommunications fiber optic cable orders including a $300,000 order from
one of the largest multi-line retailers in the United States to be used in
point of sale applications; $180,000 million for messenger cable in South
America; and $97,000 in stocking orders from Taiwan.
Optical Cable Corporation manufactures and markets a broad range of fiber
optic cables for "high bandwidth" transmission of data, video, and audio
communications over moderate distances. Optical Cable Corporation's cables
can be used both indoors and outdoors and utilize a tight-buffer coating
process that protects the optical fiber.
NOTE: Further information on Optical Cable Corporation is available
through our website on the World Wide Web at http://www.occfiber.com .
To receive additional information on Optical Cable Corporation, via fax,
at no charge, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter code OCCF.
Note: This news release contains certain forward looking statements which
include statements regarding the Company's expectations for its financial
result as well as comments on its competitive positioning. Forward looking
statements are beyond the Company's ability to control and in many cases the
Company cannot predict what factors would cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated by the forward looking statements. The
Company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify
important factors which would cause actual results to differ materially from
those indicated by the forward looking statements. These factors include
statements about the Company's future growth, level of sales to key customers,
actions by competitors, fluctuations in the price of raw materials, the
Company's dependence on a single manufacturing facility, ability to protect
its proprietary manufacturing technology, a dependence on a limited number of
suppliers, technical changes and introductions of new competing products,
productivity, international operations, weather, as well as other factor
detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Optical Cable Corporation